Unlikely Leader Rallies Steelers Offense Into Playoffs

PITTSBURGH — Isaac Seumalo is the silent leader of the Steelers offense. He doesn’t talk much, but when he does, people listen. He is also the only player on the offensive side of the football with a Super Bowl win under his belt. That made him uniquely qualified this week before the playoffs start to get a young offense amped-up and ready to go into the postseason.

So, offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner decided to call on the soft-spoken Seumalo to get the team fired up. And that was what he did, with Faulkner using the wisdom from Seumalo’s Super Bowl run in Philadelphia to engage his team.

“Absolutely. Isaac’s (Seumalo) been here before. He was on that 2017 team in Philly that made a run and he has been no-nonsense. He spoke to the offense this week just talking whatever resource we can pull from guys in hopes to get us heading in the right direction we’ll use. The guys respect Isaac (Seumalo)because of the way he goes about his business. We love it. We love having him up there,” Faulkner said.

The Steelers unit has a few guys making their second trip to the playoffs, like Pat Freiermuth and Najee Harris. But George Pickens, Broderick Jones, and others will be heading there for the first time. Seumalo’s guidance to getting those guys in the mindset of a playoff game, and in general, a playoff run, is invaluable to a team.

Jones said Seumalo’s speech preached work ethic and letting the past go. Even with the Steelers having a three-game win streak and the Bills coming in red hot, Seumalo’s speech told the young guys to let all of that go.

“Isaac never talks so when he gets up to say something everybody’s locked in on what he has to say,” Jones said. “He’s just telling us we have to take it game by game, play by play, don’t dwell on the past too much because this is a whole new season that we’re into. We’ve got to be able to lock in mentally, emotionally, physically and just continue to do our best to stay our course. That’s the biggest thing this late in the season, staying on course, staying on track, and just continuing to pound the run and throw the ball over their heads because it opens up all types of plays. He really didn’t talk much but those were some of his vocal points. Being able to stay on pace and all of that.”

It remains to be seen if that will have a tangible impact. Seumalo is playing with a high level of physicality, even after suffering a shoulder injury that has hampered him since early December when he suffered the injury against the Cardinals. But Pittsburgh, as ten-point underdog, is riding the wave of the underdog story and hoping to pull off an upset in Buffalo.